Connie S.
"And, in the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin". Queen Elizabeth I was often referred to as the Virgin Queen. Like Malcolm, both were virgins when they ascended the throne. Elizabeth became known for her virginity and it came to be a symbol of her purity and metaphors were made that Elizabeth was not married to a man, but rather married to the people and the state. That her virginity was like a sign of commitment and how dedicated she was to ruling England, she referred to, "all my husbands, all my people", emphasizing her commitment to the people. Of course this is similar to Malcolm in terms of virginity and being fit to rule. When Macduff travels to England to try to convince Malcolm to help save Scotland from Macbeth, Malcolm tests Macduff to see if he is trustworthy. During this test Malcolm claims to be lustful and that no number of women could satisfy his lust, " y t..." (page number). At the end, however, Malcolm reveals that he was simply testing Macduff and that, "I am yet ..." (page number). Both Elizabeth and Malcolm refer to virginity/lust as a characteristic of being fit to rule a country. Malcolm claims his lust for women would make him a bad ruler, and Elizabeth's image as the Virgin Queen refers to a great ruler that was committed to her country. Virginity is a characteristic that both rulers placed an emphasis on.
Another similarity between Elizabeth and Malcolm, is the amount of reform they bring to their countries. When Elizabeth comes to power, she immediately establishes a protestant church, the Church of England, and has England break away from Catholicism. Under Mary, many protestant believers were killed. Mary passed the Second Statute of Repeal Act, which basically established religious Catholic laws and allowed the persecution of protestant believers. But Mary didn't only kill protestants, but also those that she feared would try to usurp her power, much like how Macbeth killed those that he feared would jeopardize his rule. When Elizabeth took to the throne, she severed England's communion with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Act of Supremacy. This act was a huge religious reform for England. It basically took away all of the religious laws that Mary made. The reform brought about by Mary is comparable to the reform that Malcolm brings. When Macbeth is killed, Malcolm declares that, "My thanes and kinsmen, In such an honour named" (pg number). Malcolm completely reforms the system of peerage. By changing the peerage system, Malcolm starts a "clean" system. He dissociates from the system used by Macbeth, since that system led to Macbeth becoming king. Much like how Elizabeth dissolved the communion between England and the Roman Catholic Church, because Mary would kill many protestants under the Catholic laws associated with the church. Both Malcolm and Elizabeth bring about reforms that completely changed the existing systems of their countries.
- person preceding Elizabeth couldn't/didn't have an heir...mary and husband didn't have any kids...no heir
- lots of reform....ended catholicism and started protestant
- elizabeth virgin...when malcolm testing mcduff and revealed that he'd never touched a woman
- the people continually supported her and "cheered" her on
- mary killed many religious dissenters...those that wouldn't follow her way
- kind edward VI didn't want Mary to take the throne, but to do so he had to exclude mary and elizabeth, he liked elizabeth but had to exclude her b/c of mary
"And, in the end, this shall be for me sufficient, that a marble stone shall declare that a queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin". Queen Elizabeth I was often referred to as the Virgin Queen. Like Malcolm, both were virgins when they ascended the throne. Elizabeth became known for her virginity and it came to be a symbol of her purity and metaphors were made that Elizabeth was not married to a man, but rather married to the people and the state. That her virginity was like a sign of commitment and how dedicated she was to ruling England, she referred to, "all my husbands, all my people", emphasizing her commitment to the people. Of course this is similar to Malcolm in terms of virginity and being fit to rule. When Macduff travels to England to try to convince Malcolm to help save Scotland from Macbeth, Malcolm tests Macduff to see if he is trustworthy. During this test Malcolm claims to be lustful and that no number of women could satisfy his lust, " y t..." (page number). At the end, however, Malcolm reveals that he was simply testing Macduff and that, "I am yet ..." (page number). Both Elizabeth and Malcolm refer to virginity/lust as a characteristic of being fit to rule a country. Malcolm claims his lust for women would make him a bad ruler, and Elizabeth's image as the Virgin Queen refers to a great ruler that was committed to her country. Virginity is a characteristic that both rulers placed an emphasis on.
Another similarity between Elizabeth and Malcolm, is the amount of reform they bring to their countries. When Elizabeth comes to power, she immediately establishes a protestant church, the Church of England, and has England break away from Catholicism. Under Mary, many protestant believers were killed. Mary passed the Second Statute of Repeal Act, which basically established religious Catholic laws and allowed the persecution of protestant believers. But Mary didn't only kill protestants, but also those that she feared would try to usurp her power, much like how Macbeth killed those that he feared would jeopardize his rule. When Elizabeth took to the throne, she severed England's communion with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Act of Supremacy. This act was a huge religious reform for England. It basically took away all of the religious laws that Mary made. The reform brought about by Mary is comparable to the reform that Malcolm brings. When Macbeth is killed, Malcolm declares that, "My thanes and kinsmen, In such an honour named" (pg number). Malcolm completely reforms the system of peerage. By changing the peerage system, Malcolm starts a "clean" system. He dissociates from the system used by Macbeth, since that system led to Macbeth becoming king. Much like how Elizabeth dissolved the communion between England and the Roman Catholic Church, because Mary would kill many protestants under the Catholic laws associated with the church. Both Malcolm and Elizabeth bring about reforms that completely changed the existing systems of their countries.
- person preceding Elizabeth couldn't/didn't have an heir...mary and husband didn't have any kids...no heir
- lots of reform....ended catholicism and started protestant
- elizabeth virgin...when malcolm testing mcduff and revealed that he'd never touched a woman
- the people continually supported her and "cheered" her on
- mary killed many religious dissenters...those that wouldn't follow her way
- kind edward VI didn't want Mary to take the throne, but to do so he had to exclude mary and elizabeth, he liked elizabeth but had to exclude her b/c of mary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England#Reign
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England#Queen_Mary